Christopher Saski, a Clemson University associate professor of plant and environmental sciences, together with his transdisciplinary team of investigators, is sending his research on the cotton genome into outer space after being selected as a winner in the Cotton Sustainability Challenge.

The Cotton Sustainability Challenge, run by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and sponsored by Target Corp., provided researchers and innovators the opportunity to propose solutions to improve crop production on Earth by sending their concepts to the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory.

Saski's project proposes to examine gene expression, DNA methylation patterns, and genome sequences of embryogenic callus material that respond differently to regeneration in tissue culture during the process of regeneration under micro- and normal gravity environments. This project could help unlock the phenomenon of genetic recalcitrance (resistance) to regeneration, advancing fundamental biological knowledge and can have translational impacts to other plant species that are critical to global agricultural sustainability.

For more details, read the media release from Clemson University.

Figure: Clemson University associate professor of plant and environmental sciences Christopher Saski (left) and Li Wen, a scientist from Changsha University of Science and Technology and visiting scholar at Clemson, check cotton plants in the greenhouse.
Image Credit: Clemson University Relations